US tennis star Taylor Fritz had fans laughing and scratching their heads with his on-camera drawing after winning his round one match at the Australian Open. The 25-year-old defeated Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-4 6-2 4-6 7-5 at John Cain Arena on Tuesday. Viewers were quick to comment on Fritz’s “NSFW drawing” that had been broadcast across the world. In response, Fritz tweeted: “For ur information i was trying to draw a (lock) emoji…. I just forgot the very important fact that I suck at drawing.”
The roof was closed at Rod Laver Arena and Margaret Court Arena as the Australian Open’s extreme heat policy was activated when the tournament’s heat stress scale reached five. Fritz, however, said the dry Melbourne heat did not bother him. “It’s hot, but it’s dry heat, so I don’t really mind it too much,” he said. “When it’s like today, it’s not that humid … I don’t think it’s as bad.”
Fritz was also asked about the “Netflix curse” referring to the unfortunate events that have followed players who appeared in the new documentary series Break Point. Australia’s Nick Kyrgios and Ajla Tomljanović, and Spain’s Paula Badosa, who star in the five episodes out on Netflix, have had to pull out of the Australian Open. While the internet may have dubbed it “the Netflix curse”, Fritz was unaware it was a thing. “I noticed the people pulling out of the tournament, but I didn’t know it was a thing, like ‘I’m going to lose my first round because I’m in the Netflix show,’” he said with a smile.
Taylor Fritz, the 22-year-old American tennis star, recently made headlines for all the wrong reasons. Fritz was spotted with an ‘inappropriate’ drawing on his tennis bag during a tournament in Madrid.
The drawing in question featured a woman in a provocative pose. Many people were quick to criticize Fritz for his choice of artwork and deemed it inappropriate. Fritz later apologized for the drawing, saying that he had no intention of offending anyone and that he was unaware of the implications of the drawing.
Despite the controversy, Fritz has continued to perform well on the court. He has had a string of impressive results this year, including a semi-final appearance at the Miami Open and a quarter-final showing at the Madrid Open.
Fritz’s coach, David Macpherson, has defended his player, saying that the drawing was simply a “joke” that was taken out of context. He also added that Fritz is an “outstanding young man” who is “respectful of everyone”.
The incident has been a reminder to all athletes of the importance of being mindful of the public image they project. While Fritz’s drawing may have been meant in good fun, it was still seen as inappropriate and ultimately caused a distraction from his tennis.
Fritz is still young and has plenty of time to learn from this experience. As long as he continues to focus on his tennis and be mindful of his public image, he should be able to put this incident behind him and continue to have success on the court.
